One of our members visited Norway, 07-14/02/24, to attend a Winter Expedition course at Finse. in preparation for a 'Tour of the Southern Jotunheimen' later booked for 02-11/02/24...things turned out differently!
On the evening of Thursday 8th, the Winter Expedition Course at Finse commenced, comprising 12 x participants and 3 x guides. The scope was to ski around the Finse area and camp out for 3 x nights. The first 2 x hours were occupied getting the kit sorted out in the pulks. After that the group skied for about an hour in the dark to a camping spot. Our intrepid member then discovered that at least three of his fingers were FROZEN SOLID inside his left handed glove. After gradually warming up the fingers for nearly three hours in one of the tents, the guide decided to ski back with him at 01:00hr to the Brebua self service hut, located back at Finse, to ensure that he would have a warm night...something that he could not guarantee when camping in such low temperatures as -26 degC.
The following morning, two of his fingers started to blister, including a big toe...time to catch a train to Bergen for some treatment.
Arriving in Bergen on the evening of Friday 9th he thought that the medics would give him a finger dressing and that he would be able to get back to the Brebua by train just after midnight...but they kept him in for 3 x days at the Haukeland University Hospital, to get 3 x 6hr intravenous infusions, in order to mitigate the effects of the frostbite.
On Monday 12th, the surgeon checked the frostbite and was happy with the healing of the blisters, particularly that of the small finger. He was then discharged by the Norwegian medical authorities after the 3 x days of excellent treatment. Next, he was able to travel by train back to his B&B accommodation near Gardermoen (Oslo) airport having been reunited at Finse with his skis and rucksack by the help of the guide from the course. The pic was taken back home in Scotland on 15/02/24 and showed good healing of the wound.
This picture was later taken on 26/03/24, indicating that the skin had healed well but it is likely that a couple of the nails will fall off. The little finger was still very stiff but hopefully this will be largely solved by the NHS Physiotherapy advice given since his return.
So how did all this come about? It is likely that over the years he had been able to 'mentally' put up with the cold, preferring to wear gloves instead of his available much warmer mittens, especially if he needed to manage kit at some point…but the 'physical' freezing point stays the same - and he got caught out!